A shark that attacked a Russian tourist is set to be mummified and displayed in an Egyptian museum.
Vladimir Popov, 23, was eaten alive by a shark off a beach at an Egyptian resort in Hurghada in June. The attack was filmed from the shore by horrified onlookers as the 23-year-old screamed: “Papa, save me!”
Some of Mr Popov’s body parts were recovered inside the shark’s stomach, while the rest were recovered by fishermen from the sea.
Specialists at the Institute of Marine Sciences and the Red Sea Reserves have now begun the embalming process in preparation for the shark being placed in the institute’s museum, according to local media reports.
Egyptian authorities said the shark was handed over to researchers to find out the causes of its behaviour and identify whether the animal is related to one that “caused several previous accidents”.
Following the attack on Mr Popov, who had been living in Egypt with his father for several months amid the war in Ukraine, the shark was caught and dragged to land by boat, before being clubbed to death on the beach “in revenge”.
Mr Popov’s father, Yury, told the 112 media outlet of his horror at his son being mauled to death by a shark.
“We went to the beach to relax,” he said. Mr Popov, who is originally from Russia, said the attack “happened in seconds”.
“This meat grinder happened in 20 seconds, he was just dragged under the water.
“This is an absolutely ridiculous coincidence, because it is a safe beach. There are ships and yachts around. It’s never happened there. They usually attack on wild beaches. It’s just some kind of evil fate.”
Mr Popov said he would cremate his son and return his ashes to Russia.
Describing the attack, a witness said: “At one point, the shark appeared, and immediately bit this man. Rescuers saw this and began to start the boat. He tried to swim away from the shark, but he couldn’t.
“And the shark dragged the body for two hours. It constantly dragged him under the water.”
Another woman is believed to have been pulled out of the water after being close to where Mr Popov was killed. It is not known if she was a relative of the 23-year-old.
Witnesses said the victim’s girlfriend had been in the water at the time of the attack. Russian reports say she is safe and has returned to Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of a citizen from a shark attack, the Daily Mail reported.
